Please feel free to browse this website as a guest. Creating an account removes some ads, allows you to post replies, start new topics and threads, and gives you access to more features including bookmarking, live chat, messaging and notification systems.

Report - Highwood Hospital - Brentwood - Dec 2010 and Jan 2011

Regular User

I visited this hospital in December 2010 and enjoyed it so much that I returned in January 2011 to explore some more!!

Highwood Hospital was designed by Charles and William Henman who were commissioned by the Metropolitan Asylums Board to provide medical and
social conditions for poor children suffering from ophthalmia (A contagious eye condition)

Highwood was opened on 26 July 1904 and could accommodate 350 children.

Highwood Hospital 1965

In 1914, following the outbreak of the First World War, the hospital site was loaned to the War Office and from 1918 to 1919 it was briefly used for sane
epileptics.

It was then used to treat children suffering from tuberculosis (TB) and rheumatic diseases. London County Council took control of the site in 1930 and
they made a number of improvements to the buildings including the addition of sun balconies to the patientsâ€™ blocks to provide suitable open air treatment of
patients.

Highwood Hospital is a rare surviving example of the cottage home system. Although changes have been made to the buildings over time, at present, the character of Highwoodâ€™s origin still
remains. Many of the house cottage groups are still together and larger individual buildings still retain many architectural features

Modern History

The Hospital site had been made a conservation area in 2001 and closed little by little over the years as services moved to other hospitals in the area.
Highwood finally closed it's doors in 2009 and the 17 acre site was sold to Bellway Homes who plan to build over 200 homes.